Essentially, the ideal way for one to live their life is to be economical, realistic and invest their hard earned money wisely. When life throws at you opportunities to travel, the average American will automatically choose to go by way of airline: Fact. But, why is this the case? For a lack of better reasoning we will say this; people believe that airline travel is cost-effective, statistically safe and highly effective. However, as aviators, we must stop and question this. What viable percentage of those American people are aware that there are other ways? Do they know that airplane travel does NOT always entail large airports, waiting in lines, highly invasive security checks or missing baggage?

With airline travel comes many burdens that are avoidable; simple as that.

I’m here to tell you about a different way to go about things; a newer way. Diamond Aircraft recently developed a program known as DiamondShare with hopes of making flying make sense again. This dynamic new program has been designed for simplicity, in turn making the economics of personal aviation sensible, and a real possibility. DiamondShare was inspired and created to provide all pilots with a more affordable option in order to have ownership and/or access to an amazing new and modern aircraft. The secret is "sharing".

Recently I was given an opportunity to meet with one of the top advisors for the DiamondShare program, John Armstrong. John broke this down so well for me, I was instantly on board, what a fantastic program this is! I can’t think of a better promotion to offer a new or a young pilot fresh on the market for a single engine aircraft. Everyone wants the hottest items on the market be that technology, automobiles, boats or aircraft. "Yes I want the Garmin G1000, yes I want the all glass cockpit, and yes I want the auto-pilot feature, but let’s be realistic; the hottest aircraft on the market certainly won’t be the cheapest. This brings us right back where we started; I want to be economical, I want to be realistic, and I want to invest my money wisely.

So check this out, did you know that on an annual average, most aircraft owners will only use their planes 80 - 100 hours per year? That equates to roughly 5% of the total hours in a working year, excluding weekends of course. Obviously, that scenario is less than ideal and it’s certainly not economical or wise. Not to mention, along with aircraft ownership comes numerous fixed costs that are essentially inevitable; including insurance costs, hangar fees as well as avionics subscriptions. So why would anyone invest so much money in the purchase of a brand new, top of the line aircraft? The answer is simple; most people wouldn’t.

Due to these factors, the average buyer on the market for an aircraft (especially in an economic crisis) is going to "settle" for an older, more outdated model; if for no other reason, simply to justify their investment. DiamondShare wants to change this. With the Share and Save Program, the new owner can now leverage his/her assets while radically reducing their cost of ownership. The owner still maintains full control and as a bonus, this usually enhances tax advantages.

Moving right along, the aircraft that I am discussing is the Diamond DA40 XLS; a fantastic and beautiful, completely state of the art aircraft. Say you are a student pilot (such as myself); perhaps you are not seeking aircraft ownership right away. Nonetheless, depending on how much a person enjoys the freedom of flight, how much would that person realistically invest every single month on aircraft rental and fees? Aside from that, your local FBO only has so many training aircraft available for hourly rent; this doesn’t allow much capacity for personal travel. $135.00 per hour seems tolerable; until you reach 8 or 9 hours that is. But what other choice is there?

That’s it; you have just discovered the reasoning behind the creation of the DiamondShare program. Suddenly, the brand new Diamond DA40 XLS seems relatively affordable and certainly obtainable. Whether you are seeking full or part time ownership, if $995.00 per month is a budget that you can justify for fractional ownership, I would like to invite you to visit www.diamondshare.com

In conclusion, the DiamondShare program was inspired and created to provide pilots from every walk of life a brand new opportunity to make a gratifying investment. Whether you seek full ownership or just easy and convenient access to an amazing and modern aircraft, DiamondShare has potential for you. By pooling your love for aviation with other flight-goers and literally sharing the wealth, you are now capable to own the latest and greatest, hottest new aircraft on the market; the sky is literally the limit!